By Ted Waddell
LIVINGSTON MANOR — September 7, 2007 — Losing your first game 38-0 may not be the most auspicious way to kick off a football season, but at least the players have an opportunity to play.
In a repeat of last year, the Devilcats varsity football squad is comprised of players from both Roscoe Central School and neighboring Livingston Manor Central School, as neither district had the numbers to field a team of their own this autumn.
The LMR Devilcats began their 2007 season last Saturday by hosting the Deposit Lumberjacks at the Livingston Manor football field.
At 8:07 in the first quarter, Zachary Matthews scored for Deposit, and at 6:02 a pass completion put the Lumberjacks up 12-0. Both PAT kicks came up short, however.
About a minute after the Lumberjacks’ second TD, a LMR fumble gave Deposit (1-0) a first-and-10 at the Devilcats’ 37-yard line.
In the second quarter, Jordan Hathaway made it a 18-0 ballgame, and at 7:28 Zachary Matthews broke several tackles to take it into the end zone, a short haul scamper that gave Deposit a 24-0 lead.
On the second snap of the Devilcats’ subsequent drive, they coughed up the ball on a fumble.
Derek Wignall shattered the Devilcats defensive line and ran for a 35-yard touchdown at 4:57. The PAT kick was good and the Lumberjacks were up 31-0.
At 10:53 of the third quarter, Deposit’s Brett Hauber scored on a 45-yard run. In the wake of a successful PAT kick, the Lumberjacks led 38-0.
The only bright spot on the Devilcats’ radar screen was a late game goal-line stand that stopped the Lumberjacks in their tracks on a fourth-and-goal situation. Fred Ahart and Kevin Clifford serve as Co-Head Coaches for LMR (1-0).
“Deposit has a fine football team and they took control of the game on the ground,” Ahart said.
“Our players hung in there,” he added. “It’s a learning process, and in the second half we improved. We didn’t give up.”